International
and National Situation and Our Tasks adopted by the All India
Conference of CPI (ML)
Political
Resolution.
For the successful completion of Indian revolution, it is needed to
assess and review the international and national situation so that
development of class struggle inside the country and struggles of the
oppressed nations and people against imperialism in the concrete
situation they are facing can be viewed in the correct perspective
and directed towards the intended goal.
International Situation
For the successful completion of Indian revolution, the review of the
international situation under which the revolution is to be carried
out should be made time to time.
To base our review let us first look at the basic contradictions in
the international arena as formulated in our basic document, the
programme and how they are active today. The basic contradictions
are:
1. The contradiction between the imperialism and the oppressed
nations and people of the world
2. The contradictions among the imperialist countries among the
monopoly groups;
3. The contradiction between capital and labour
4. The contradiction between imperialism and socialism.
Here, we must note the fourth contradiction was earlier expressed as
imperialism versus socialist camp, meaning the forces of socialism
led by the great socialist countries the USSR and China.
But both the USSR and China as well as the East European countries
have taken the capitalist path. In this situation socialist camp as
such does not exist as before. But people all over the world are
fighting against imperialism holding high the banner of socialism and
communism, so the contradiction between imperialism and socialism
exist as a basic contradiction.
The main objective of the review is to look at the developments
around the world and find how the above contradictions are active.
Objectively it is a time when imperialist forces are not only
divided, but also are facing one crisis after another. Through
globalisation they wanted to avert contentions amongst themselves at
the expense of the oppressed nations and countries. At the same time
the US imperialism intended to establish its global hegemony through
this process. But things did not work as they expected. Though they
are trying to make the world believe that they have come out of the
crisis in 2008, they could never recover fully. While the crisis
continued, with the grave situation that developed in Europe and
devaluation of Yuan in China the ripples took the shape of high wave crisis globally. Rather this can be called as a concomitant of
globalisation.
As a result, the contradiction amongst the imperialist countries as
well as between the imperialist countries and the oppressed nation
and people’s of the world are intensifying.
Earlier the US involved, mobilised and led the NATO forces behind it
to plunder the Middle East oil. It carried on wars on Iraq and
Afghanistan (gateway of both eastern and Middle Eastern Asia and
strategically placed at the border of China). When the US trampled
upon the UN Resolution on Iraq and started aggressing Iraq, even
Russia and China could not play any active role to desist the US from
such action. The US with the NATO powers carried on “regime
changes” through covert and overt intervention in Libya, Egypt,
Somalia, Yemen etc. But things changed after the 2008 crisis.
Moreover, because of the continued resistance in those places where
they hoped to have established a puppet rule as in Iraq, Afghanistan
and other places, contradictions developed between the West European
powers and the US over the share of booties. At the same time Russia
and China allied themselves with certain central Asian countries.
Srilanka etc. So, when the US wanted to destabilise Iran or Syria,
there were resistance from the imperialist forces.
The European Union led by Germany is also gaining strength both
economically and geopolitically. Euro has turned out to be a
contender of dollar in international trade. Moreover, the alliance
between Russia, still a military super power, and China to rope in
other forces to fit with their geopolitical interest, have also
built up a two pronged economic alliance-The SCO and the BRICS. SCO
(Shanghai Cooperation Organization) is a body of countries to carry
on trade. Both India and Pakistan have recently become full member of
it. So along with Iran, Sri Lanka and a number of central Asian
countries SCO has become a strong economic and trading organization
to contend with the US. At the same time, BRICS (Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa) consists of those countries who have
recently become economically and politically important countries.
But these alliances are also not homogenous. With the deepening of
crisis contradictions among themselves are also growing. As a result,
in the EU on the one hand Germany is trying to establish hegemony,
but there were strong opinions within the ruling classes in the UK,
and even in France to come out of the EU. In different countries of
the EU, people are also rising against the EU and its stranglehold
causing devastating impact on the lives of the people.
As a result we have seen that in the UK in the plebiscite on ‘Brexit’
(which though called “Britain exit” but actually meant the UK as
a whole) majority voted for exit. It has shown the fragile nature of
bonding of the EU and the Eurozone. The critical situation of the
Euro which had earlier been challenging the dollar regime,
unemployment in member countries which could not be solved by turning
the EU as a single VISA zone and single labour laws and differences
on foreign policy interests that could not be ironed out the EU have
created the crisis. A section of ruling classes in the UK as well as
the popular opinion of working masses in hitherto developed
industrial zones in Britain though with differing purposes coalesced
to bring a majority for BREXIT. The crisis of the EU has become more
clear when the high level meeting between the heads of states of
Germany, France and Italy on an aircraft carrier in the Ventonese
Islands of Italy could not come out with any optimism.
Actually BREXIT shows that the effort of the European imperialists to
collude against the colonial, semi-colonial countries as well as
other imperialist powers was of fragile nature proving the contention
among imperialists as a primary and collusion is secondary.
Thus, a situation has appeared where the US’s intention of
establishing global hegemony is facing obstacles not only from the
people but also from other imperialist powers, contradictions amongst
imperialist powers them selves are also intensifying. There exist
both contention and collusion amongst imperialist forces. Though they
might collude for some time, their contentions are coming to the
fore.
But where does India stand in this particular context? In response to
the US’s global strategy of controlling the oil sources and the oil
routes all over the world, China which after changing its colour, has
been trying to become a power, at least an Asian power, started
developing its own strategies. It has declared the South China Sea as
its area of strategic importance. South China Sea is the important
sea-route connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Moreover
it developed its relationship with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and
Bangladesh. Developing ports and naval facilities in those countries.
In the South-East Asia it developed its relationship with Myanmar,
Thailand, Laos and Kampuchea. In this situation the USA tried to
extend its strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. It had the ANZUS
(Australia, New Zealand and the USA) alliance earlier. They extended
it with Japan, the Philippines and India. India very willingly joined
it especially after Narendra Modi came into power. It did not only
develop friendship with the above mentioned countries but also
developed military exchanges with them. Of late, it had convened a
meeting of the Pacific Islands, and signed special relationship
treaty with the Seychelles. Thus India has become a strategic partner
of the US in its global design to establish its hegemony.
But the Indian ruling classes are not a homogenous entity neither are
the imperialist masters of whom they are playing subservient roles
in this semi-colonial dispensation. Especially from the end of 1960’s
Russia has a great influence in the political and military affairs of
the country. The economic influence was at an ebb, but now it is
rising again. So, India joined SCO. It has signed deals with Russia
for peaceful use of nuclear technology, as it has done with the USA,
Japan and others. Through Russian mediation it wants to open the door
for supply of oil and natural gas from Iran which was earlier stopped
at the behest of the USA.
All these show that India is placed at an important geo-political
position in the global strategies of different imperialist powers. It
is not without reason that Obama openly praised Modi for his moves.
But at the same time it is also found that India is in a dilemma
because the US is not prepared for war now, it wants to carry on
political chess game. The other powers are also not in a position to
dare the USA militarily. Of late, Russia has stood up against the USA
and its NATO allies overtly in Ukraine. But there too, all the NATO
forces are not united.
The incursion of US imperialism into central Asia and former Soviet
Republics was resisted by Russia in Ukraine. It started asserting its
interests in this region as a imperialist power.
South China Sea is one of the most important region through which
three fourth of the world trade passes. The US has a military base in
Philippine and signed an agreement to build another one in that
country. US imperialist policy of ‘Pivot to Asia” is aimed at
isolating China by roping in Japan, Australia and India. Using an
unresolved dispute of territory in South China sea between China,
Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, US imperialism is making all sorts
of diplomatic manoeuvres, and instigation these countries into
confrontation with China with China sending its troops to spratly
islands and US imperialist attempts to strengthen its control over
the South China Sea, the situation becoming hot.
In this situation India develops relationship with its neighbours
keeping in mind the positions and balance of forces in the chess
board at the particular time. So we see a blow hot and blow cold
relationship with China and Pakistan. Attempts to get Sri Lanka away
from China. Same is true for Bangladesh. Nepal presents a specific
feature in this respect, which will be discussed later.
So far one particular contradiction has been discussed. There are
others also. The contradiction between imperialism and oppressed
nations and people is also not only growing, but often it takes shape
of armed conflicts. In Iraq and Afghanistan the US forces are not in
a position to totally withdraw armed forces. Recently the US had to
send 500 army officers in Iraq. People of oppressed nations are
continuously on the move. In Iran the US had to come to a compromise
Syria is still a thorn in the throat of the imperialists. In Latin
America the US imperialists are facing challenges from the
nationalist forces like Chavez in Venezuela. True, they cannot bring
revolutionary change and often have to come to compromise with the
US imperialism. But the US imperialism also has to restrain itself.
As a result of such resistance of the oppressed nations and people of
the region after many decades the US had to come to a compromise with
Cuba ending the embargo.
In this context, it is to be noted that most of aggressive acts of US
imperialism were targeted towards countries which happened to be
Muslim states and stiff resistances developed in those countries.
Earlier while opposing the USSR aggression on Afghanistan the US
imperialism aided and abetted not only the Taliban’s but also
certain terrorist organizations like Al Qaida. But when the USSR had
to withdraw from Afghanistan and the US imperialism stopped in, those
terrorist organizations turned against the US. At this point of
development the 9/11 incident gave a weapon in the hands of the US
imperialist. They started calling all such resistances as acts of
terror and declared a “global war on terrorism”. They also
started mobilising other countries to fight against terrorism
But they were blind when civilian children in hundreds were killed in
Palestine. Palestinians are carrying on a long drawn war not only
against Israel, but also against the conspiracies of the US and NATO
forces.
Nepal is a landlocked country sandwiched between two big
neighbours-India and China. After 10 years of civil war led by the
CPN (Maoist) the 240 years old monarchy scripted a peace process.
Through that peace agreement Nepal turned into a republic and
elections to Constituent Assembly was held in April 2008. The CPN
(Maoist) came out as the single largest party. The Hindu state was
changed into a secular republic. Puspa Kumar Dahal (Prachanda) became
the Prime Minister. There were deep divisions on drafting the
constitution. In that situation Prachanda had to resign within 200
days following a controversy on sacking the then Nepal Army chief of
the staff Rukmangat Katuwal. But due to the deep divisions the
constituent assembly failed to deliver a constitution within the
stipulated two years. A new election was held. The CPN (Maoist) got
much smaller representation than they had earlier. Finally the
constitution was adopted in 2014. But there was great deal of
discontent among the Madhesi people of the Terai region. After
prolonged movement and necessary changes in the constitution peace
was resorted. But turmoil in Nepal is continuing. Recently a full
circle completed with Prachand becoming the Prime Minister again. He
is the seventh Prime Minister after the first constituent assembly
elections eight year ago. This continued turmoil and instability in
Nepal has a number of reasons. Especially, the interventions by its
two big neighbours in Nepal’s political and economic structure and
conflicts of interests that arise from them is one of the main
reasons.
Not only in the oppressed nations and countries of the world but also
in less developed countries like Greece, the crisis has brought the
people on the path of struggle. It is also a reflection of the
peoples struggle against imperialist machinations. There through the
“NO” vote people of Greece sent a loud and clear signal that they
are ready to face any situation to fight the design of the TROIKA
(IMF-ECB-European Commission combine). The leaders of Greece
including the Prime Minister Tsipras, the leader of Syriza, finally
succumbed to the pressure of the TROIKA led by Germany, even after
calling upon the people for a ‘NO’ vote. But the people took to
the streets and a number of ministers of Tsipras cabinet resigned and
formed popular unity party with the call of “smash the Eurozone
dictatorship”. The struggle in Greece is on.
So it may be clearly said that the contradiction between the
imperialism and the oppressed nations and people of the world is not
only growing, but continues to be the principal contradiction. It is
the principal contradiction because its existence and development
affects the existence and development of other contradiction
including the contradiction amongst the imperialist powers.
It is clear that the world wide crisis has created a situation where
the contradiction between capital and labour is also developing. The
most significant example of this is the movement to “Occupy the
Wall Street”, where thousands of people from all parts of the USA
and even from other countries gathered for days to protest against
the globalisation process and its consequences. Railway workers,
miners in Europe are on the streets and carried on pitched battles
and so on.
Those who are interested in sports know very well that during the
last Euro Cup football in France, the workers were on strike.
Specially because of the continued strike of the railway and airways
workers the organisers of Euro Cup had to face immense difficulty in
logistical arrangements.
The struggles of the people of the world had also brought to the
light that the capitalist world’s call for “end of civilisation”
is not only a hoax, but a blatant lie. The future is not capitalism,
future lies in socialism and communism.
In this situation the communists have to play a leading role to
mobilise the people against imperialism. But after the Soviet Union
had taken the capitalist path and finally collapsed, people had hope
in Socialist China. But China too had taken to capitalist road. China
is now busy to turn into an Asian power and vying with other
imperialist powers to establish its spheres of influence. This has
created a twofold problem. One, there is no socialist camp as opposed
to imperialists. The communist parties have to fight themselves
without any hope of help from a socialist country. The second one,
and more important at that, the communist parties all over the world
are in a divided state both internally and externally-meaning
ideological-political unity amongst themselves is lacking. People of
the world are also confused about how both the USSR and China could
turn to capitalist road. Communists will have to come out with clear
answers to such question. We should take up the task of studying the
conditions of communist movements in the different countries.
So, the communists are facing a challenging task. On the one had to
lead the struggle of the people and on the other to equip them-selves
and the people ideologically and politically towards socialism.
Failing which the peoples struggle will go astray. It is already
being found that at the face of attacks of the US imperialists and
the Islamophobia generated by the US imperialists, youths and
patriots of Islamic origin are taking to terrorism in the name Jehad.
No matter they might have some reasons to take such path but that
will undoubtedly lead the struggles to a wrong path, a blind alley
and finally lead them to defeat.
It must be understood that only the struggle of the people based on
Marxism Leninism can become victorious against imperialism. Communists should go full steam ahead
to shoulder the responsibility. No phrase mongering will help; we
will have to develop ourselves with all aspects-ideologically,
politically and culturally-to combat imperialism with
Marxism-Leninism as our guide to action.
It is worth mentioning here the phenomenon of ISIS which has now
become IS. Originally the ISIS (Islamic State of Independent Syria)
was organised with the direct assistance of the US and NATO powers to
bring a “regime change” in Syria. They did not only keep the ISIS
with logistical and financial support but also by large scale supply
of arms and ammunitions. At the beginning the ISIS was to build
independent areas of authority in Syria to dislodge finally Assad
from power. In that aim they concentrated their forces around Aleppo in the northern part of Syria. But attacked by Syrian Govt forces
they extended towards the bordering areas of Iraq around Mosul,
which area could never be brought under the total control of the US
forces. This angered the US and its allies. They first withdrew
support, then started attacking the ISIS along with Russia. In this
situation two changes took place in the ISIS - first started large
scale recruitments from Muslims all over the world who had been
nourishing an aspiration to teach the Western World a lesson; and the
second was to flank out of the borders of Syria and Iraq. The
nomenclature of ISIS changed to IS, meaning Islamic states. But one
more important change took place in its activities. It started
terrorist attacks on different parts of Europe especially. Thus IS
turned out to be a Frankenstein created by the US and its allies. But
the problem is that this tactics of the IS is actually terrorising
the people, not the imperialist bases and popular opinion is being
created against the IS by the strong propaganda machinery of the
imperialists. Attacks on metro stations, restaurants, theatre halls,
busy market areas are actually killing mostly ordinary people. Thus
instead of isolating the imperialists they themselves are being
isolated. Such terror tactics cannot be successful. But one thing is
clear from this phenomenon that imperialists often lift stones to
drop on their own feet. In this context one important task before the
communists is presented by the globalisation process which is
intended to develop an integrated regime of finance capital to rule
over the world and fetter all economies into such a condition that no
one country can get out of its clutches. The imperialists feel that
by this process they can deter any attempt by any oppressed country
to go out of its clutches and develop independently. But already
people all over the world are fighting against this conspiracy.
People of oppressed countries are struggling to break the shackles of
imperialism. But their struggles can be strengthened only when all
the oppressed people of world stand up unitedly against this global
design of imperialism while working for revolution in their own
countries. Communists all over the world will have to gear up their
activities to unite the oppressed people of the world. Let the
clarion call be “Working classes of different countries together
with oppressed nations and peoples of the world unite and overthrow
the present imperialist globalisation and struggles to establish a
socialist world system”.
Tasks
1.To fight against the globalisation strategy of imperialism
2.To fight to overthrow imperia-lism and its cohorts from our own
country and support struggles of people all over the world in their
fight against imperialism
3.To study the communist move-ments in different countries of the
world, the problem faced by them and to develop relation-ship with
likeminded parties.
National Situation
The period under review coincided with the second term of UPA rule at
the center. This period witnessed the unbridled implementation of the
policies dictated by the imperialist financial institutions and
deceit of people through the so-called democratic process of
consulting the people.
This period witnessed surrender to US imperialism both politically
and militarily with all false assertions of being a world power. This
period witnessed an intensified loot of national wealth by the MNCs
and amassing of the bureaucratic capital by the Indian big
bourgeoisie. This period witnessed the further deterioration of
living and working conditions of toiling masses of people and
constant erosion of all civil and democratic rights of the people.
This period saw the aggravation of exploitation and oppression by the
ruling classes and resistance from the people .
Agrarian Crisis
The crisis of the peasant economy continued as the policies that
precipitated it continue to be implemented. The agricultural sector’s
growth rate hovered around 1.5 per cent, and the yields growth rate
decelerated to 1.5 per cent during this period. The high growth rates
achieved during green revolution period (just over 3 per cent) were
mainly due to the toil of poor and middle peasants best of its fruits
being corned by the MNCs and big business. With the new economic
policies, the supports extended to the peasantry during the green
revolution are being gradually withdrawn. As a result, the prices of
inputs to continue the cultivation had gone up. This has pushed the
peasants more into the clutches of usurious money lenders. As the
institutional credit is being curtailed, this situation got
aggravated.
With the signing of the WTO agreement, distress sale of farm produce
became more acute during this period. This has not only affected the
poor and middle peasants but also the rich peasants.
Thus the high cost of inputs due to withdrawal of subsidies and
denial of sustainable prices forced the peasants to borrow money.
With the acceptance of Narasimham committee’s recommendations on
agriculture, the scheduled banks reduced the share of credit to
agriculture, thus the poor peasant was left out of the institutional
credit.. The indebtedness of the peasants had gone up to 48.7 per
cent and it is highest in AP (82%) followed by TN (74%) Punjab (65%)
Karnataka (61%) and Maharashtra (55%).
Any slightest adverse situation in agriculture is driving the
peasants to commit suicides. Of late, the suicides by the peasants
has extended to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar along with
previously known AP, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and
others.
The rural India had a harrowing experience during this period. There
was pauperisation of peasantry degrading them from middle to poor and
then to landless peasantry. The landlessness and toiling on the land
as tenants, share croppers and agricultural labours had phenomenally
grown during this period. The land grabbing by the state to hand over
it to the Indian and foreign big bourgeoisie also led to rise in the
number of landless households in the rural India.
The ruling classes of India portrays the crisis as the lack of
capital investment. On this plea, it reduced the public investment in
agriculture and during this period increased public funds to create
infrastructure that promotes private capital, ie., allowed
privatization of existing Agricultural Produce Marketing Yards
(APMY), allowed setting up of new APMYs in private sector, funded
cold storages, leased out FCI storage space etc. Thus the ruling
classes’ plan to replace peasants with capital in the form of
contract/corporate farming was put in place during this period. It
took many measures to promote private capital (read: MNCs). It
allowed many MNCs like Bunge, Cargill and others to enter into
foodgrains market and future trading in agricultural produce. It
implemented Rangarajan committee report on Sugarcane pricing which
favoured the sugar industry at the expense of peasants. It promoted
Genetic Modified (GM) seeds, particularly Bt Cotton, and showing it
as a model to raise productivity it planned to allow GM seeds in many
other crops too. When resistance came from the various sections of
people, the Ministry of Environment withheld the decision for the
present. It conducted meetings in various states in the name of
gathering opinions from the people and tried hard to stage manage the
show. Meanwhile it removed straightforward members of Genetic
Organisms Approval Committee (GEAC) and made it subordinate to the
ministry. Then without much fanfare it allowed MNCs to produce GM
seeds in India in the name of field trials.
The Modi government continued the process that is being called as
reforms process, from where the UPA government left it. It issued
ordinance amending the Land Acquisition Act-2013, which extended the
power of government to acquire land from the peasants not only in the
name of public interest but also equally undefined term
public-private participation. It has done away with the clauses for
social impact assessment which identifies the number of people
affected and to be compensated in addition to land owners. It is
playing the same deceit on the people as the previous Congress
government by claiming that the compensation be paid four times more
than the prevailing market price of the land acquired, but in
reality, it only pays the double that of registered price in the sale
deeds.
Instead of taking steps to remove the real causes for the suicides by
the peasants, the government slashed the number of suicides by
excluding those of tenant farmers and agricultural labourers.
Thus every step taken during this period was placated a measure to
alleviate this misery of the peasantry; in actually used to alienate
the peasants from their lands to promote the corporate/ contract
farming.
Thus the alliance of big landlords, big bourgeoisie and imperialism
is extracting surplus labour, utilising feudal as well as capitalist
market form of exploitation and throwing the peasantry into misery,
pauperisation and to suicides.
Industrial Stagnation
The main feature during this period was acquisition, takeover and
merger of existing Indian companies by the foreign capital rather
than starting new industrial units. Despite the tall 3 claims by the
UPA government that the growth rate will soon reach the double digit
level, it remained around 6 to 7 per cent during this period. Another
feature was the drastic decline of the manufacturing sector.
The world capitalist crisis of 2008 had its effect on the Indian
economy. The immediate effect was on the IT and ITES sectors which
are completely dependent upon the orders of the US and Europe. This
sector lost its sheen; average wage rate had come down to half and
nearly 30 per cent of its employees lost their jobs.
As the imperialist economies were mired in crisis, earnings from the
Indian exports started to plummet, creating capital account deficit
in the balance of payments situation. As the US imperialism
drastically reduced interest rates, the Indian big bourgeoisie
borrowed heavily and the Indian government invested in the dollar
bonds. As a corollary though the Balance of Payments situation
appeared comfortable during this period, the hidden structural
weakness have had its toll on the economy. Rupee became weak and
India made to export its products more cheaply and to spend most of
its foreign exchange reserves on the import of crude oil whose prices
had reached to record level.
Many of the MNCs drained the economy both by legal and illegal means
and the Indian government stood not as mute spectator but stood as an
abettor of the illegal means adopted by the MNCs by legalizing their
loot (ex. Nokia et al). The outflow of the capital in the form of
profits, royalties and wages to foreign managers had outpaced the
inflow of foreign capital. Moreover, the FII component of the foreign
capital had jumped several times relegating the FDI component to
secondary place. This means that the foreign capital that came into
India during this period was more into the stock exchanges rather
than starting new industrial units.
How the natural resources of the country were handed over to the
imperialist sharks in a golden platter by the UPA-1 had come to the
light as in the case of allotment of 2G spectrum and coal blocks.
Apart from the corruption involving hundreds of crores of rupees, the
loot of natural resources was made free of any restrictions and the
future of the country was thus sold away. Once the natural resources
were cornered, how these forces used their monopoly to twist the arms
of the government to impose unimaginable prices on the people for the
very natural resources that belong to them was recorded in the case
of Ambani’s demand on behalf of British Petroleum and the Indian
government’s acceptance to raise the price of natural gas from $4
to 18 per BTU. The then Prime Minister called it as crony capitalism,
but actually it is the bureaucratic capitalism, which is one of the
basic nature of Indian big bourgeoisie.
The BJP which made severe criticism on the corruption that took place
around these sell off of our natural resources like G-2 spectrum and
coal blocks which were made on the basis of first come first serve
basis, and promised that it would allot them on open auction method
with full transparency. But after coming to the power at the Centre,
it made amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act so that all the coal
blocks allotted previously would continue undisturbed. The amendments
also enabled the state governments to sell off their mineral
resources.
Narendra Modi, who lambasted the UPA government for its failure in
reviving the manufacturing sector, promised to give a full thrust to
it in order to create jobs for the youth. After becoming PM, he gave
a call of “Make in India”. To which ever country he went
visiting, he asked the foreign capitalists to come to India, setup
manufacturing here, export the products and earn profits. He
repeatedly promised to provide all they wanted immediately and to
amend labour laws so that the workers will be deprived of all rights
and can be hired and fired at the whims of the capitalists. As a part
of implementing the “Make in India’ policy, he opened up defence
production to foreign capital. As India is importing more than 70
percent of arms and armaments, he argued, the foreign arms producers
would setup manufacturing in India, so India would save foreign
exchange and will have jobs created. This argument is misleading as
in practice, there will be only assembling plants of imported knocked
down kits. For example Foxconn company which closed down its existing
plant in India, throwing thousands of workers jobless, now starting a
new company in AP, which take such exactly the same task, assembling
the knocked down kits of mobiles. ‘Make in India” only turns the
manufacturing sector in India into an appendage of foreign capital,
which utilises all resources-land, electricity, minerals etc-and
labour cheaply, and remit the profits to its parent country.
Unemployment and Poverty
The much tomtom economic growth did not bring about any growth in
jobs. The 15 million people who migrated every year during this
period from villages to cities in search of jobs were not employed in
the manufacturing sector, but were forced to eke out their lives in
low paid daily wage jobs without any security for job. Informal
employment like contract and outsourcing had increased even in the
public sector units. The MNCs with their massive production
facilities in the industrial slums of Noida, Manesar, Sriperumbudur,
Hosur etc are blatantly denying the rights of workers, even to form
unions. The political leadership and the state machinery stood with
the MNCs and unleashed brutal repression on the workers as was
evident in the case of Maruti Suzuki workers.
Poverty had engulfed more people. After the Arindam Sen found that 70
% of the population was living below the poverty line, the UPA
government tried to show that more people had crossed the poverty
line during its rule through manipulation of statistics. Yet other
reports of several national and international agencies showed that 40
to 60 per cent of the people are living in abject poverty.
Nearly 60 per cent of the people are still dependent upon
agriculture. The crisis created by the policies pursued by the UPA
government eroded the incomes generated from the agriculture. There
were no alternative employment opportunities available for the
people. The UPA government had not taken any step to improve the
incomes, effect structural changes ie., land re-distribution or
generate employment in other sectors. Whatever chances were available
for these people can only be called distress employment. Migration
from villages to urban areas and even to foreign countries to work
under wretched conditions had been extended to newer districts than
known before during this period.
The BJP government continued these policies – withdrawal of state
procurement agencies, privatization of agricultural market yards,
gradual diversion of bank loans from peasants to agribusiness,
with-drawing the support to peasants etc. The Modi government slashed
the allocations to social spending (health & medical services,
education, food security etc) by Rs. 1.75 lakh crore, while it
continued the tax concessions to the big bourgeoisie and foreign
capitalists given by the UPA government to the tune of Rs. 5lakh
crore per year. It is clear that the BJP government is driving the
people into more poverty and unemployment.
The impact of growing poverty and unemployment is more on the down
trodden people, among them adivasis are the worst affected. They are
being thrown out of their habitat, and their livelihood-forest, land,
water are being forcefully taken away. It is the adivasis who are
paying first for the costs with their lives & livelihoods for
every so-called developmental projects. Young women and men are
persecuted and even killed for marrying someone outside the caste.
Women suffer various forms of discrimination and oppression. They are
super-exploited at work places and in the fields by denying equal pay
for equal work. In the name of empowerment of women, they are being
subjected to slave like labour in the sweat shops of SEZs and their
blood being sucked by the micro finance companies. The modern
technology made available as a part of expansion of market for making
profits, instead of lightening the burden of women is perpetuating
the patriarchal culture as is evident in the killing of girl child in
the womb.
Atrocities and attacks on dalits are on the rise as a result of
growing rural tensions. As the agricultural crisis worsens, its
impact is playing havoc with the lives of dalits who constitute the
majority of the rural poor. Despite tall talk of empowerment of
dalits, the employment opportunities are constantly dwindling forcing
them to migrate to the cities condemning them to wretched life.
The most precious human productive asset of our country is being
ruined by the existing social system. It is denying the basic
education to our children, and subjecting the labour to intense
exploitation while another section is kept idle partially or fully.
Education, from primary to higher level, which imparts training to
sustain and develop production is being tailored to suit the plunder
by the monopolies instead of meeting the needs of our people and
country.
Sophisticated medical services are offered to the people from rich
countries, often subsidized by the government in the name of medical
tourism, while millions of our people, particularly pregnant women
and infants, die of easily curable diseases every year because of
lack of basic health services. The medical and health services are
being privatised and by introduction of health insurance schemes in
the name of catering the needs of the poor, public funds are being
diverted to corporate hospitals and health insurance is being
promoted. The foreign insurance giants are vying with each other to
gobble up the medical insurance sector which was made into a
lucrative trade. The ruling elite in its obsession to earn foreign
exchange, has allowed the foreign pharmaceutical companies to use the
poor as guinea pigs to test their drugs without caring for the
disabilities resulting from those clinical trials. Instead of
safeguarding the health of the people, the government is extending
its full support in this unethical practice to ensure super profits
to the MNCs.
The uneven economic development and consequently the uneven political
development is giving rise to many problems. There is no genuine
development of nationalities and regions. The national and democratic
aspirations of the people are getting expressed in various forms and
in various degrees. They are ranging from demands for development of
region, language and culture, to separate statehood to self
determination. The struggles for national self determination in
Kashmir and North eastern states are persisting; the Indian ruling
classes are using brutal military force to suppress them with
occasional drama of talks to bring them into so-called mainstream.
Many regions in the country are demanding for separate states within
the Indian union which are being utilised by the ruling class parties
to whip up regional hatreds rather than agreeing to their demand or
developing the region. The demand for abrogating Armed Forces Special
Powers Act that came to the fore in the people’s movement speaks
volumes of the reign of terror let loose upon the people by the
government with the plea of protecting the integrity of the country.
In fact the call for protecting the integrity is actually a call for
protecting the state oppression on different nationalities and the
attempt to deny equality of the nationalities. Sometime it is covered
up by granting separate statehood to dissenting nationalities, but
the oppression goes on. Moreover the call for protecting national
integrity is often misused to develop national chauvinism.
The existing social system is not only destroying the human
productive forces, but also ruining the nature. The degradation of
forests and consequent soil erosion is leading to devastating floods.
Soil fertility is reduced to an alarming level and groundwater is
depleting and newer areas are being threatened by desertification.
The unbridled drive for profits is leading to air and water pollution
causing harm to the health of the people.
Carrot and Stick
The deterioration of living and working conditions has led to unrest
and resentment among the people. This period witnessed resistance
from the rural people to the land grabbing by the state. This
resistance to SEZs, power plants, nuclear reactors, ports,
aerodromes etc., was mainly due to the destruction of their
livelihood and lives by the so-called developmental projects.
The UPA government used brutal repression on the people who were
resisting the land grabbing by force. Yet the resistance of the
people had spread to wider areas; from UP to Maharashtra, to AP, to
Tamil Nadu; and from West Bengal, Odisha to Jharkhand to MP, to
Gujarat.
Simultaneously, the congress party also employed other means to
deceive and divert the people from the path of struggle. One of them
was the policy of “rights approach” to the problems. The UPA
headed by the Congress party proclaimed that it will recognize the
people’s right to basic needs and services through legal measures.
It enacted right to Information, right to Education, right to
Employment, right to food laws along with the law for restoration of
traditional rights of adivasis.
The non-implementation of these ‘rights’ laws was only a part of
the deceptive game. From the day of their enactment, the UPA
government devised methods to dilute them. This was strikingly
evident in the case of adivasis and food security Acts. While the
central government issued executive orders nullifying the benefits
that should have reached to the adivasis, most of the state
governments ignored their responsibility to implement the law by not
framing the required rules and regulations. Even the government
agencies observed that the MNREGA had provided employment to less
than half of those registered with the scheme and the payment made
for the work was often far less than the prescribed.
The BJP government too announced the so-called social security
schemes, that is, Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana, Prime Minister
Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana, Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana and
Atal Pension Yojana. These are only meant to divert the attention of
the people from the frontal attack on the social sector made by the
BJP government
With the selective release of data concerning the Economic and social
Census 2011, the Modi government further reduced the poverty figures
with the aim of reducing the number of beneficiaries under various
schemes. In the name of rationalization, the UPA government had
merged many schemes and now the NDA government put the onus of
implementation of many of these schemes on the state governments.
Another method devised was direct cash transfer to the beneficiaries’
bank accounts, which gives leverage to the government to reduce the
subsidy and/or funds allotment at its will and this is being
assiduously followed by the Modi government.
Unable to solve not even a single problem of the people, the ruling
classes are unleashing brutal repression upon the people. Moving in
the footsteps of UPA government , the NDA Govt. continue the brutal
repression on the 6 people agitating against the Nuclear power plants
at Jaitapur, Koodankulam etc. It also resorted to firing on the farmers
who are resisting the construction of thermal power plants in the
agricultural lands.
Divide and Rule
The ruling classes had been using nefarious ‘divide and rule’
policy as a method to divide and oppress the people. They are using
regional, caste and religious differences to rake up hatred so as to
divide the people and liquidate their unity. The ruling class cliques
used regional sentiments among the Telugu-speaking people for over a
decade to divert them from the real issues and the struggle for them.
They raked up caste feelings among the dalit castes so as to make
them as the followers of either one of the ruling groups.
The most nefarious acts the ruling classes resorted to is the raking
up communal hatreds among different religious people. While the BJP
employed naked and open methods of raking up communal chauvinism, the
Congress used concealed and soft methods. Emboldened with the Gujarat
carnage, the BJP and RSS have spread rumors and lies to rake up
sentiments and hatreds against Muslim community to ascend to the seat
of power as was evident during the Muzaffarpur riots. With coming to
the power, BJP and RSS made the communal propaganda as a part of
political discourse. Yet, the toiling masses of India, who have the
several centuries of living in communal harmony, have proved time and
again that they will not allow the communal forces to destroy their
lives.
Instead of keeping the religion outside the affairs of the state,
which is the norm with in a democratic system, the ruling classes of
India are doing everything to polarize the society on communal lines.
Under the wings of BJP government, the RSS and its outfits are raking
up communal hatreds. Campaign for the Ghar Wapasi undertaken to
justify the coercive conversion of non-Hindus to Hindu religion as
has happened in Agra. Spewing hatred against non-Hindus became the
order of the day. The frequent statements like calling those not
following Ram as illegitimate child, calling madrasas as dens of
terrorism, asserting that the population of Muslims is rapidly
increasing and therefore Hindu women should produce four children,
those who eat beef should go to Pakistan to live etc are being hurled
on the people from the highest positions that are supposed to uphold
the sanctity of the Constitution. Utilising the power at the Centre,
the BJP is seeking to change the curriculum of education and poison
and communalise the minds of young generation; On the other side it
is distorting the higher education including the IIT, medical
education to serve the interests of imperialist plunder by turning
our youth as mere learners of technology and not as creator of
technology that suits the national needs, and to smuggle communal
agenda higher centres of learning like ICHR, ICSSR etc.
The wanton communalization is influencing the lower middle class
urban youth and rural elite, who are active in taking up the role of
moral policing, be it attacks on progressive writers and artists, be
it dictating the dress code to women and their behaviour pattern. The
PM himself 7 on record calls the human rights activists as five star
activists in a derogatory manner set the tone and tenor for the
cultural policing being resorted to by the RSS and its outfits.
While the state as well as the media of the establishment are
continually propagating for death penalty of even those who are
remotely connected or only suspected to be connected with a terrorist
activity if they are from the Muslim Community, they just manage to
forget as about the terrorist killers of Hindu Communal variety who
perpetrated massacres at Malegaon, Jama Masjid and in Sanjhanta
Express. They forget the names of Asimananda Bharati and his ilk.
Along with the continued attacks on Muslim community, the attacks on
Christian community are increasing – 11 incidents reported since
December 2014 including Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana,
Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The impact of these localized attacks
organized by the RSS and its outfits is spreading religious
intolerance, social hatred, marginalizing of the minorities and
muffling the democratic voices.
Political situation
The economic crisis is leading to political crisis. The
contradictions among the ruling groups have sharpened. The
contradictions among ruling class factions also got sharpened. As a
result many scams and corruption of the ruling elite have come to
light. The ruling classes used their identity - Caste, religion,
region and family etc. – only to safeguard their financial
position. In this process the ruling classes pushed the theories of
identities on the people. The negative effects of which could be seen
in some sections of the downtrodden people. Religious beliefs and
practices are being promoted by the ruling class parties and some
parties also came into existence on the basis of religion in the wake
of elections.
It was in this background that the BJP designed its strategy in the
context of 2014 elections. It sought to utilize the simmering
discontent among the people to gain in the elections. Much before the
announcement of elections the BJP pressed into action all their means
to exploit the situation in their favour. It moved swiftly to gather
public opinion against the government utilizing the burning issues
like Nirbhay rape case in Delhi. They became successful in duping and
misleading the people to reap a victory in the poll. The Indian Big
bourgeoisie and the Imperialist powers endorsed the BJP’s decision
to field Narendra Modi as the future PM as they believed that in the
given situation a change of regime and with Modi at the helm would
help a speedy implementation of neo-liberal economic policies. BJP
gave the slogan of ‘development and progress’ and placated Modi
as the icon of development and decisiveness. BJP pretended to be
opposed to the cult of personality and the rule by Nehru family. But
in reality Modi was brought to the fore on the wings of the
personality cult. The election to the 16th Lok Sabha has resulted in a
crushing defeat to the Congress and thumping victory to BJP.
The results expressed the anger of the people at the rampant price
rise, inflation, massive corruption with recurring scams which played
havoc with lives and livelihoods of the people. The results expressed
the wrath of the people at the policies pursued by the congress-led
UPA government which favoured imperialists, big bourgeoisie, big
landlords, big contractors and dalals of the ruling classes and
brought disastrous consequences for the people and the country. The
elections also expressed the strong urge of the people for the
betterment in their living and working conditions – an urge which
they have been sustaining decade after decade.
Kashmir Situation
Kashmir problem has been haunting both the people of India and
Pakistan since 1947. It was created by the British colonial power as
a bone of contention between the newly formed India & Pakistan so
that their domination on the Indian subcontinent continues. The
people of Kashmir had never been allowed to decide their fate by
themselves by the ruling classes of India and Pakistan despite
suggestion by the accession treaty and UN resolution to hold
plebiscite in Kashmir. Unless suppression of national and democratic
aspiration of people of Kashmir is stopped, peace could not be
restored in Kashmir.
Kashmir is burning today. The mass upsurge that erupted in Kashmir
after the brutal killing of Burhan Wani by the Indian security forces
is continuing since 9th July, 2016. It is two months by now. Yet, the
anger of Kashmir people has not subsided. In this period, more than
seventy people have been killed and thousands were wounded by the
Indian security forces. Hit by the pellet guns, several people have
lost their eye sights, totally or partially. The Central security
forces, acting on the direction of the Indian State and the Central
Govt., are behaving with the protesting Kashmiri people as though
they are enemies. It is a grave situation. It is the duty of every
democratic citizen of India to raise their voice against the
repression let loose by the security forces in Kashmir. The present
protest has brought the Kashmir problem to the fore powerfully once
again. The mass protests repeatedly erupting in Kashmir showing
increasing defiance and determination among the people point out that
the methods of manipulation, division, diversion , suppression and
pacification used by the Indian rulers to tide over each crisis are
failing in solving the Kashmir problem. Need, therefore, is to go
deeper into the real causes and find a just and lasting solution to
the Kashmir problem. both Indian and Pakistani governments must take
the necessary steps, including the withdrawal of security forces from
both parts, create a congenial and democratic atmosphere and
conditions to enable the Kashmir people to express their aspirations
freely and with no fear and decide their political future.
Congress Party
Congress party has the long history among the ruling class parties
and has earned the expertise of ruling at the centre and in various
states. Now it is in the opposition at the Centre and in many states
and was decimated in some states. It has the expertise of serving the
big bourgeoisie, big landlords and imperialists, while at the same
time could be able to rally other class from agricultural labourers
to small capitalists with welfare slogans. It is the party that
follows the footsteps of imperialism from Nehru to Indira, to Rajiv
to PV Narasimha Rao and to Manmohan Singh. This is the party that
sowed the seeds economic policies dictated by imperialist financial
institutions in 1981 and again implemented them in the name of new
economic policies in 1991. Even though it donned the garb of
secularism, it is utilizing the communal forces in every religion
employing disguised methods. Now it is using the Parliament to
placate itself as the party of Aam Aadmi by opposing the very policies
that it has partially implemented and now being implemented by the
BJP government.
B.J.P
As far as the class nature is concerned, it is not at all different
from the Congress party. It came to the power at the centre riding on
the crest of people’s anger against the decade long rule by the
UPA. It is now implementing with full thrust the policies dictated by
the imperialist financial institutions. The Modi government had
stepped into the shoes of the UPA government. Modi agreed to the US
condition on nuclear power plants relieving the US companies from any
liability in the case of an accident. He is firmly committed to carry
forward the strategic alliance with the US imperialism and re-signed
it after ten years as it was lapsed. Thus it made India a bonded
partner to the US hegemonic plans in the Asian region. There is no
doubt that it is a party that caters religious fanaticism and fascist
trends. It used, using and will use every issue to polarize the
people on communal lines. For many decades its fore runner, Jan
Sangh, could not make a dent on the political arena. But its rise
with the implementation of New economic policies and destruction of
Babri Masjid is not accidental or co-incidental, but a well-planned
design by the ruling classes to divide the people so that they can
easily implement these policies without much resistance. It was
brought to power as a part of this strategy by the ruling classes and
it proved itself as their trusted servant with its policies in one
year of its existence.
CPI & CPM
These reformist and social democratic parties are used to push the
train of ruling classes when it stopped and scold it when it is
running. Their situation is further deteriorated than when Com. TN
commented and now they act as megaphones for either one of the ruling
classes parties.
Both the CPI and CPM claims that they are working on the basis of
Marxism-Leninism. They have expressed openly and sometimes not so
openly that the tenets of Marxism-Leninism should be changed
according to the changed conditions. They are merely parroting the
basic principles of communist party, while competing with the
bourgeois parties in adopting their practice and methods. This give
and take attitude in the context of elections and their election alliance, even extending it to taking their berth in cabinet are part
of the methods of bourgeois parties.
They claim that they are opposing the economic reforms under
neoliberal regime. Yet they had implemented the same reforms when
they were in power stating that they are not opposing all the aspects
of reforms but to the way they had been implemented. Later they
reduced the entire issue of economic reforms to corruption at higher
places. They had not hesitated to use brutal methods of suppression
against the people when they resisted the reforms. Thus they are
trying to prove themselves are capable of serving the interests of
exploiting classes. They are employing such methods and tactics that
act as the safety values for the pent up unrest and anger among the
people. They limit the peoples agitations to that of getting some
concessions from the government.
They are sowing illusions among their rank and file that
Marxism-Leninism could be practiced while maintaining friend-ship
with bourgeois parties. But they are not acting on their own
programme and on their own foothold. Their hobnobbing with the
bourgeois parties has no relation with anti-imperialist, anti big
bourgeoisie and anti-feudal programme. As a result, their activity
has gone away far from Marxism- Leninism.
Regional Parties
Many regional parties have emerged in various states and many of them
have come to the power.
Some of them like DMK, AIADMK in Tamil Nadu TDP and TRS in AP and
Telangana, AGP in Assam etc. Utilised the genuine national and
democratic aspirations of the people of the region to come to the
power. Once came to occupy the seats of power. They are using fascist
methods to rake up regional Chauvinism to divert the people and
brutal repression to suppress the people. They are serving the Indian
ruling classes and imperialist powers, while at the same time
propping the feudal forces and contractors in their states.
Some other regional parties are off shoots of ruling class parties
like TMC in West Bengal, RJD, JD (U) in Bihar, SP in UP etc. They are
serving the interests of Indian ruling classes and imperialism along
with feudal forces in the states. In order to ascend to the powers,
they are basing solely on caste ridden society with ever changing
combination and permutation of castes. In this process, they are
perpetuating the caste division among the people and raking up caste
hatreds destroying the unity of the people.
People's Resistance against Ruling Class Conspiracies
People all over India are fighting against attacks by the ruling
class with more and more vigour. The workers are fighting for their
rights. On September-2, there was an All India strike by the workers.
Though the main organisers, the central trade unions led by the
parties of establishment, try their best to make it an one day
affair, the workers are carrying on their struggles in their
industries and factories. The students of universities have taken
their cue from the struggle against the “murder” of Rohit Vemula,
a dalit student leader of Hyderabad University and its spread from
the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi to Jadavpur University in
Kolkata to Delhi university and so on and on. Dalits and minorities
are also organising themselves to resist the onslaught of the RSS led
casteism and communalism backed by the state. The Dadri killing
united the minorities, dalits and democrats all over the country to
fight back. That unity was cemented when in Gujarat dalits were
attacked for carrying cadaret of a cow. In Gujarat dalits have set an
example of unity.
Above all the fight of the tribal people, peasantry and democrats
together against the imperialist conspiracy to snatching their lands
in the name of development and building up SEZ’s based on the
policy of globalisation has shown that people of India will not take
imperialist attacks lying. Moreover in this connection one concrete
fact is to be presented. From Singur to Kalinganagar to POSCO to
Nandigram to Rayagada to Srikakulam people got organised for
resistance with the help of different political organisations, NGO’s
and mass organisations. In most cases these organisations were
totally different in different states. For example the TMC was
present in Singur and Nandigram, but they could not be seen anywhere
outside West Bengal. But one sort of political organisation was
present in all the places, they were communist revolutionaries,
Marxist-Leninists. But the Problem was that they were a divided lot.
The ever deepening political and economic crisis in India and in the
world has been providing good opportunities to the CRs to build a
revolutionary movement and to lead the people to more decisive
revolutionary battles to achieve the much cherished goal of New
Democratic Revolution in India. But the revolutionary movement will
not come by itself. It must be prepared for and built. And only a
strong proletarian revolutionary party can prepare for and win the
victory. The absence of such a party continues to be serious weakness
even today. The building of proletarian revolutionary party by
uniting all genuine revolutionaries is our task.
Moreover it must be remembered that just analysing the situation is
not enough, the need is to “chase the situation. One way it is an
excellent situation. The ruling classes are fighting with one other
constantly. Their parties at the centre and the states are vying with
one another for power. People are rising up spontaneously to resist
the onslaughts on them creating a situation when any attempt to
maintain balance by the ruling cliques is getting upset. This is a
situation where the ruling classes are being forced to take tough
decisions-economically, politically, administratively, even
militarily. But for the communist revolutionaries it is a situation
when their task is clear as the proverb-”when the going got tough,
the tough gets going”. This toughness in our task can be achieved
by implementing our programme and path for revolution in accordance
of the concrete situation, continuously developing our forces.
Building an agrarian revolutionary movement with the slogan of ‘land
to the tiller’ is the fore most tasks of the revolutionaries. This
should be combined with other main task of building the
anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggles. Awaken the people to
achieve the following basic tasks and organise the people’s
struggles on the following immediate demands:
Basic Tasks:
1. All the rural poor should struggle for the implementation of
revolutionary land reforms with the ‘land to the tiller’ as the central slogan.
2. Nationalise all the foreign capital.
3. Encourage national industries.
4. Fight for the protection of adivasi right over the land, water and
forest.
5. Oppose privatisation of water.
6. Oppose corporation of agriculture.
7. Stop the entry of foreign finance capital.
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